Wife arrested over murder of British pastor in Philippines

The body of Pastor David Brash, 62, who went missing on 22 November 2007 in the Philippines, has been found beaten and burnt in a swamp. His wife has been arrested for the murder.

Brash was the pastor at Runcorn Independent Baptist Church in Cheshire before he announced receiving a new calling from God to evangelise in the Philippines and left for the country on 1 November, reports Times Online.

When he disappeared it was believed that he may have been abducted by militants such as al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf. Such groups regularly abduct people in the Phillippines for ransom.

Now, however, police have arrested Annalyn Batalyer, 23, whom Pastor Brash married only last year. Police on the island of Mindanao believe that Batalyer hired two hit men to kill her husband.

Batalyer has reportedly confessed to plotting the murder. The reports say that she told investigators she had paid £350 to Reyante Prado, their driver, and Noel Noja to kill Brash.

It is alleged that she hired the men to kill her husband out of "hatred and anger" at his maltreatment. There are also reports that police are investigating whether Batalyer was having a relationship with one of the suspected murderers.

Pastor Brash provoked controversy during his time in the UK when he said the Asian tsunami was a result of the sin of mankind. Despite this, his congregation described him as a godly man, reports Times Online.

There are also reports that Pastor Brash made some enemies in the Philippines amongst local evangelicals. He said, "If this pastor thinks I will be scared off, he has made a mistake - he should never have declared war on a Scouser," according to Times Online

Stuart Hart, the church secretary of Runcorn Independent Baptist Church said, "David was sure that he was doing the right thing. He was a man who loved God and he wanted to serve God. As a community we are very saddened by this news."

According to Times Online, he described Annalyn Batalyer as a "pleasant young lady".